Mediaboss Marketing

When you own, run, or look after the marketing for an online store, there are plenty of strategies you can implement to generate interest, build a brand, increase conversions, boost referrals and encourage repeat business.

In this day and age, though, when billions of people have at least some kind of online social media presence and use networking sites to research products and make buying decisions, it is imperative that your marketing efforts have a significant focus in the social space, too. Read on for some ways you should be using the power of social media to better market your e-commerce store today.

When it comes to using social networking tools to build your e-commerce business, your best resources will be social data analytics programs. More sophisticated than ever, these tools will collect and analyze the data from the social media sites you use to help you ensure youre targeting the right customers, and also to allow you market to them more effectively. This makes it easier to design a marketing strategy that will get the results you want.

In particular, tools such as Buffer, BuzzSumo, Keyhole, Hootsuite, and Klout can look at the engagement you receive on social media posts to determine which types of posts receive the most likes, shares, replies, and comments, and which links are clicked on most often.

Once you have this data at your fingertips, you can work out which content to do more of and which to not bother spending time on. It also helps you to ensure that youre reaching the target customers youre after, plus can help you to identify potential new demographics to focus on.

Another top benefit of using social media to market your online store is that platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram provide you with a space to improve your customer service. On social networking sites, you can chat with people directly in real time, and have more meaningful interactions with current and potential clients.

By answering questions as soon as they come in, providing information when it is needed, running live chat sessions, or responding to complaints or problems ASAP, you can make customers happier. They will then, in turn, become more loyal to your store, and will be much more likely to recommend your products or services to their friends, family members, colleagues, and other contacts. This does some handy marketing for you, and at a very low cost.

Keep in mind that people are busy and quite demanding these days, and expect to hear back from businesses straight away, not in hours or days. Social media provides the perfect platform for this type of quick response, and means that people dont have to waste time on hold on the phone, or worry about checking to see if they have received an email reply. They will be more likely to finalize their transactions as a result, and to come back and buy from you again.

Apart from making people feel more confident to buy online because they have the information they need or have had their concerns allayed via social media, providing customer service on networking sites also helps you to impress a lot of other consumers at the same time. People can see, publicly, that you take customer service seriously, and that you will go the extra mile to help clients and address problems right away. This is the perfect low-cost marketing tool.

In addition to overcoming possible objections and demonstrating your commitment to customer service, you can use social media to build your brand by humanizing it. Through posting online, you allow people to get to know the company more intimately, as well as the people behind it.

Via social media channels you can showcase the personality of your brand, and demonstrate the ventures passions, vision, goals, beliefs, and point of difference. You can give people a taste of what the culture is like within the organization, and who it is that they will speak to or buy from when engaging with the business. You can also introduce them to the people responsible for selecting the products sold or determining the way theyre packaged up and shipped out. This allows you to stand out from the thousands of other e-commerce stores you will likely be competing with.

Brand storytelling is important for all businesses, but online stores, in particular, can benefit from using social networking sites to tell stories about the products sold and about the culture, lifestyle, and/or ethos that defines them and the venture as a whole. Through your posts you can help people to trust in your business and what it is you sell, and inspire them to share the lifestyle and culture youre defining.

Some opinions expressed in this article may be those of a guest author and not necessarily Marketing Land. Staff authors are listed here.

Link:
How to use the power of social media to better market your online store - Marketing Land

All of these sites allow users to create and share content with an audience the essential media element that email is missing. On all sites, there are methods of connection and building a network: Facebook friends, followers on Twitter and connections on LinkedIn. In many cases, you will not have met all of these connections in real life (although that is less true in the case of Facebook friends), so followers can often represent more of an "audience"than being actual collaborators.

Social media is also closely associated with "Web 2.0" the concept of the "second stage"of the web popularised by Tim OReilly and Dale Dougherty. In the first stage of the web, users were limited to passive viewing of content; for example, they would go to a website and be able to access its information, but not be able to interact with it.

With Web 2.0, the Internet is thought of as a platform in itself, where people are essentially building applications within it. The more people collaborating, the better the applications get, and where users are able to interact with the content and create their own.

See the rest here:
What is social media and how did it grow so quickly? - Telegraph.co.uk

Networking events can initially seem an inconvenient distraction for entrepreneurs from the day-to-day running of their company.

But all the evidence suggests that there is business to be won for savvy networkers.

Networking events range from business breakfasts to after-work happy hours at restaurants, as well as more formal events.

And the benefits frequently become manifest on innumerable levels regardless of the setting or the tone of the event.

But Will Kennedy, sales and marketing director at managed services provider Solar Communications, believes that the IT sector in particular is missing a trick when it comes to the many benefits of networking.

He explained: The impact of networking in the IT industry is often underestimated, even by the very people working within it.

After all, once weve installed the software and done twiddling with the wires, do they need to see or hear from us again unless theres a problem?

That, I fear, is the perception, and it couldnt be more wrong.

Whats so important for us in the IT industry to understand and appreciate, is that our products are critical to the everyday functioning of our clients businesses.

Being on hand, be it through a fully furnished corporate event, or over a cappuccino, strengthens that sense of trust in us as providers of solutions who will always be there should things go wrong.

Many networking experts maintain that there are five steps when it comes to successfully building business contacts...

Kennedy added: Cultivating and developing that trust through regular contact with clients is good for building a reputation, understanding more about their business and a stronger relationship but it also has another, more basic function - increased sales.

Ours is a fast-moving industry, and new technologies and solutions are appearing all the time offering new ways for businesses to execute mission-critical processes more quickly, more efficiently, more easily and more cost-effectively.

Regular face-to-face contact with clients gives us the opportunity to showcase these solutions and, hopefully, close sales further down the line.

A reputation for reliability and trustworthiness is vital for all industries, but particularly so for ours, an industry whose failings can have a catastrophic impact on our clients businesses.

Organising events where we can share our levels of expertise via thought leadership allows clients both existing and prospective an opportunity to see and hear that they are right to put their faith in our solutions and in our people.

It consolidates their belief in us, and that belief can translate to enhanced loyalty, greater custom, and new partners. Successfully selling a product to a client shouldnt be the end of face-to-face interaction with them - it should be the beginning.

Lawrence Jones, CEO of UKFast, adds: "There is nothing more important for a start-up than getting to know people. Potential customers, potential mentors, other start-ups and successful businesses everyone knows something or someone that you dont.

"Nowadays, theres really no excuse. The internet has opened up the world and there are more routes than ever to meeting new people. I recommend using all of the tools at your disposal

"LinkedIn is fantastic to expand your network and access to professionals whereas Twitter gives you more personal, broader access. Twitter is an incredible tool for getting advice and linking into events that you cant make.

"That being said, nothing can replace meeting face to face. Getting to know someone over a cup of tea, a game of squash or at an event rather than solely online is a sure-fire way to build a lasting business relationship.

"When I first met Sir Richard Branson, we went for a run every morning. Whilst getting exercise and enjoying the beach around us, we were chatting about business and asking each other questions. We ran for hours and the insight that I gained was extraordinary.

"Equally, Ive been skiing, climbed Mount Snowdon and been camping with many business leaders, rather than sitting in an office forcing the conversation

"If youre struggling with where to start, take a look at TechMCR which connects businesses and mentors and holds events throughout the year for tech startups."

Tech Manchester was launched earlier this month with the expressed remit of enabling the next generation of tech entrepreneurs to access the support they require to grow their business.

As part of this process, it has promoting networking and is organising events throughout the year.

For more details visit: techmanchester.co.uk/events

Read more:
The real benefits of social networking id you're a tech entrepreneur - Manchester Evening News

FLORENCE In an effort to provide information pertaining to specific areas of the city, the Florence Police Department has partnered with the social network, NextDoor.

The Police Department continues to search for means and methods to improve efforts at crime prevention, public education, and ways to interact with our neighbors and residents, Florence Police Chief Ron Tyler said. NextDoor is a platform for all of that.

NextDoor is a community-based social-networking site for a neighborhood.

Detective Sgt. Greg Cobb said the program will allow police to post safety/crime information for specific neighborhoods.

The advantage is that if we have a rash of burglaries in a certain area of Florence, we can alert just that area of the city about the crimes, he said. If we have a missing person in certain area, we can alert that neighborhood and the surrounding area about the issue.

NextDoor was launched in 2011. Cobb said there are 1,500 local members in the system. To sign up or get more information go to nextdoor.com.

The chief said people are embracing technology more and more andwe encourage people to sign up."

Police Lt. Brad Holmes said Nextdoor.com is a free service to residents. He said when a resident signs up for NextDoor, the system will ask for their address and a means of verification like the last four digits of a Social Security number, last four of a debit card that is billed to the address, or a cellphone number registered to the address.

This allows the company to confirm that you do in fact live where you claim. The information you provide isn't shared or used for any other purpose, Holmes said.

He said after an individual is signed up, the site will allow communication with others in the neighborhood, seek solutions to concerns, sell items, socialize, and keep each other informed about items of interest to their neighborhood.

No other neighborhood sees your posts, he said.

Holmes said NextDoor is a "virtual neighborhood watch" app for neighborhood-specific information about criminal activity.

The benefit to our department is the speed of information release, Holmes said. The system also allows the user to direct message our staff. Since we put the system online early (Monday) morning we have already received more than 20 requests for information."

As opposed to getting misinformation from social media about crime, we want residents to utilize this for accurate, up-to-date information, Tyler said.

See the article here:
NextDoor offers specific information for neighborhoods - Times Daily

Considerations for youth and social networking Part 6: The role of photo captions Help youth take a critical look at how a photo caption can change the photos perception.

Posted on July 28, 2017 by Christine Heverly, Michigan State University Extension

According to Teens, Social Media and Technology Overview 2015 by the Pew Research Center, nearly three-quarters of teenagers ages 13-17 have access to a smartphone. Of those teens, 92 percent report going online daily and 71 percent say they are using at least one social networking site. With this high usage of social networking and teenagers going online, there are many factors adults should consider when helping youth navigate their usage of social networking sites.

In addition, youth enjoy sharing photos through social media tools as is evident by the popularity of Instagram and Snapchat with younger demographics. It is extremely important to help youth understand how to properly caption a photo because the caption can change the photos entire perception.

Adults need to be aware of two major factors when addressing captioning of photos.

Pictures can be taken in a variety of ways. Help youth understand every picture that is shared with others paints a picture of that youth. Others can use this information to make assumptions about the youth or even locate a youth.

Imagine seeing a photo of a group of youth who are doing a park clean-up where everyone who sees the photo can come away with a different opinion on what is happening. Some people will think that is a great group of youth who are trying to help out the community, while others would question why those youth are cleaning the park or what did they do wrong to have to clean up the park.

For example, look at the two following caption options: Its a great day to do a park clean up or UGH, why do I have to doing this? Each gives the viewer a different perspective on what is happening.

Pictures are a way youth look for feedback and advice. Many times, youth will post photos online with a question seeking advice or wanting feedback from their friends. For example, if a youth shares a photo on social media asking, What should I do? this simple caption could get a whole range of responses, some positive, sarcastic or even negative.

Due to the ease of being able to type a response behind a screen, the advice may not be genuine. Adults need to take the time to have a conversation with youth about thinking before responding to a photo caption.

Youth enjoy sharing photos through social media, so help them understand how the caption they give a photo can completely change a photo. Help youth understand that every picture that is shared with others paints a picture of that youth. Others can use these photos and captions to start making assumptions about the youth that could have negative consequences.

Technology changes, apps come and go, and the next wave in social media platforms will come about. Those changes may occur, but it does not change that we need to help youth think about the photos they share and the captions they write on a phone. Adults should be continually reminding youth that they need to take a few moments to think before sharing a photo.

This article was published by Michigan State University Extension. For more information, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu. To have a digest of information delivered straight to your email inbox, visit http://www.msue.msu.edu/newsletters. To contact an expert in your area, visit http://expert.msue.msu.edu, or call 888-MSUE4MI (888-678-3464).

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Considerations for youth and social networking Part 6: The role of photo captions - Michigan State University Extension